February 10th, 2008 Coffee in Fiction

According to the Book Of Coffee by Anne Vantal, every day there are one and a half billion cups of coffee consumed on our planet. Now that's a lot of coffee. If you're like me, right now you may be sitting in a local coffee house reading this. I love the atmosphere of a coffee house, the smell of coffee, the sound of people chatting and a comfortable place to sit and read a book or newspaper. I enjoy it so much that a family member told our dog I would be more interested in him, if he was shaped like a coffee cup. So, if you’re out for an early morning coffee or at home in your housecoat sit back, relax and enjoy this article. Today’s theme is coffee in fiction.

Bitter Grounds by Sandra Benitez follows three generations of El Salvadoran women. Set against a volatile backdrop of civil war, we follow the lives of Mercedes Prieto, wife of a poor coffee picker and Elena de Contreras, matriarch of a coffee plantation. After the loss of her husband and son, Mercedes becomes an employee in Elena's household. Although they come from very different backgrounds, their lives become intertwined and over several decades they help each other to survive many hardships. Although we have other books by this author, the library does not carry this title. We have a copy on order. If you would like to read it now, we can borrow it for you from out of town through our Interlibrary Loan service.

The Coffee Trader by David Liss takes place in Amsterdam in the Seventeenth century. Miguel Lienzo, who was once a successful commodity trader, is now living in the basement of his younger brother’s home. In an attempt to restore his wealth he accepts an offer from a sexy Dutch widow. They hope to capture the market with a new commodity, known as coffee. He soon discovers that things are not quite what they seem. He must face a powerful enemy, and betrayals await him at every turn. Pour yourself a cup of coffee and sit back and enjoy this thriller.

Irish Coffee: A Mystery Set At The University Of Notre Dame by Ralph McInery features Roger Knight and his private eye brother Philip. The two brothers like to spend time talking sports with a Fred Neville, a Notre Dame staff member. That is they do until Fred turns up dead, a result of what appears to be an Irish coffee laced with strychnine. When two women each claiming to be the fiancée of Fred, appear at the funeral, Fred's death takes an interesting turn. The brothers then begin their own investigation into the death. Sounds like an interesting book to read, perhaps while having an Irish Coffee, which you can make using 1 part whiskey and 3 parts of coffee, plus a little sugar and some whipping cream.

Latte Trouble by Cleo Coyle is volume three in the Coffeehouse Mysteries series, starring Claire Cosi. Owner of the Village Blend Coffee Shop, Claire has her hands full, when a barista serves a poisonous latte at a fashion show. When a second person is poisoned Claire tries to solve the mystery in order to save her coffeehouse. The library also carries the previous books in this series – On What Grounds and Through The Grinder, in case you're interested in reading the entire series. Now this would be a good book to read while enjoying a low fat latte with a hazelnut flavour shot.

Uncommon Grounds is the debut novel of Sandra Balzo. It is the story of Maggy Thorsen, a divorcée, who along with two friends opens the Uncommon Grounds coffee shop in a small Wisconsin town. Running a small business is a challenge for the women, especially on opening day. When Maggy finds one of her partners dead in the coffee shop, lying in a pool of milk, she sets out to find the killer. Oh, if you're wondering how someone could die in a pool of milk, she was electrocuted by an espresso machine. The library does not carry this title, but we can borrow it for you from out of town. Sounds like a book to read while enjoying an espresso, just stay away from the machine.

The Virtual Collection on our Web site can assist you to find other fiction books with the topic of coffee, or any other topic for that matter. Try the NoveList database and search under the key word coffee, you'll find an urn full of novels to choose from. If you're a tea drinker don't feel left out. If you search under the word tea, you can find even more novels. I don't know if this means something. Well I hope you enjoyed reading this article. Hopefully you found a book you might be interested in reading. If so, be sure to take it with you next time you visit one of our local coffee houses. Thanks a latte for reading this column. I hope it satisfied your thirst for novels about coffee. Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Karen Craib, Library Technician